Court security staff vote to strike after rejecting a 27p increase

Court security staff vote to go on strike after rejecting a 27p-an-hour wage increase union slams as ‘poverty pay’

• Members of the PCS union have voted 96 per cent in favour of industrial action
• Union says pay offer worth 27p an hour above minimum wage has been rejected
• It comes as barristers go on strike for a third week in an ongoing protest over pay

Court security staff have voted to go on strike in a dispute over pay amid the cost-of-living crisis grappling Britain’s economy.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) employed by private contractors OCS voted by 96 per cent in favour of industrial action on a turnout of 61 per cent.

They have rejected a pay offer the union said was worth 27p an hour above the national minimum wage of £9.50.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: ‘Our members are facing a cost-of-living crisis but, instead of helping them, OCS continues to offer poverty pay.

‘The courts are already struggling with a large backlog of cases, and not having security officers will bring them to a standstill.’

Court security staff have voted to go on strike in a dispute over pay amid the cost-of-living crisis grappling Britain’s economy. Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (pictured, file photo) employed by private contractors OCS voted by 96 per cent in favour of industrial action on a turnout of 61 per cent

The union is calling for a £500 one-off payment, full occupational sick pay from day one, an additional day’s annual leave, and paid time off for medical appointments.

The Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents civil service workers, is also set to hold a ballot in September over pay, pensions and redundancies. 

The union said its members were facing an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis and Government plans to cut 91,000 civil service jobs. 

This comes as barristers go on strike for a third week in an ongoing protest over pay and conditions after rejecting a 15 per cent pay rise.

Criminal cases face further disruption as the four-day walkout of defence barristers went ahead today.

Lawyers gathered at the Supreme Court in London as well as Birmingham, Preston and Plymouth Crown Courts to support the ongoing Criminal Bar Association (CBA) action in a dispute over conditions and Government set fees for legal aid advocacy work.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka (pictured in 2020) said: ‘Our members are facing a cost-of-living crisis but, instead of helping them, OCS continues to offer poverty pay’

The Ministry of Justice has said criminal barristers will receive a 15 per cent fee rise from the end of September, meaning a typical barrister will earn £7,000 more per year. 

Barristers are self-employed. Before Covid, in 2019-20, barristers who said they worked full time on crime received an average of £61,000 after expenses, according to the Bar Council, but this dropped to £47,000 in 2020-21 after the pandemic closed courts.

Pay may increase to pre-pandemic levels now courts have gone back to sittings in person. However, rates may have reduced in real terms due to the effects in inflation.

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